PR 96/49 - NEW YORK MARATHONERS IN SUPPORT OF WFS

PR 96/49

NEW YORK MARATHONERS RUN IN SUPPORT OF SUMMIT
TO END WORLD HUNGER

New York, 3 November-- Almost 30,000 runners in the 20th New York
Marathon called today for a united stand against hunger, joining marathoners
around the world to support the goals of the World Food Summit, which the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will convene in Rome, Italy 13-17
November 1996. New York is one of 21 marathons supporting the Summit.

This year, Marathons in cities as far-flung as Rome, Durban and Machu
Picchu in Peru came out in support of the World Food Summit, which will seek
ways to ensure the most fundamental of human rights: freedom from hunger.

Marathon runners say that a healthy diet is essential to lead a
productive life. This year, thousands of runners around the world have joined
the race against hunger and malnutrition, signing the "Marathoners" Appeal
for a United Stand Against Hunger."

The Appeal says: "We believe that the objectives of the Summit...can and
should be promoted by everyone. Only by working together to find solutions
can we ensure adequate access to food for all."

"It's our good fortune to run and at the same time give the right to
all, not only to run, but simply to eat," wrote one person who signed the
declaration of solidarity with the world's hungry.

Another wrote: "To end the greatest injustice of all time...hunger."

FAO estimates that one in seven people in the world go hungry every day.
That's more than 800 million people, or the number of people in the United
States and Europe. At least a quarter of those are believed to be small
children, robbed of a productive future because of an insufficient and often
poor quality diet.

Grain reserves are declining and staple foods cost more, pushing many
people deeper into poverty. Over the next thirty years, global population is
expected to rise by 3 billion. FAO estimates food production will have to
increase by more that 75 percent to meet this demand. Achieving such a
sustainable increase, while safe-guarding the often fragile environment, will
require a coordinated international effort.

Meeting under the slogan "Food for All," the World Food Summit will be
the first attempt ever to tackle the problem of food security at the level
of Heads of State and Government. The Summit is expected to adopt a policy
statement and a plan of action aimed at eradicating hunger.